Dr. Sherri Kirkpatrick visiting with a community health volunteer in Rai village, Nepal

We're excited to announce that HealthEd Connect is again in print!  HealthEd Connect co-founder Dr. Sherri Kirkpatrick and two colleagues, Jan Elliott, a long-time supporter of HealthEd Connect, and Wilaiporn Rojjanasrirat, a Graceland nursing faculty member, received word last week that an article they'd been working on for months was accepted for publication in the nursing journal, Clinical Nursing Studies.  The title of the article is Sustained volunteerism: Motivational factors of community health volunteers in Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zambia, and Nepal.

So why do our health workers volunteer year after year, with some having reached the incredible milestone of serving for over 30 years? To find the answer, you'll have to read the article!  But here's a hint: it's not for prestige or money. The article features interviews with our amazing health workers that Sherri conducted over several trips.  A discussion of the findings, along with quotes from our health worker volunteers, can be found on pages 15-18 of the article.

Click the title link to view the article: Sustained volunteerism:  Motivational factors of community health volunteers in Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zambia, and Nepal.

We hope you enjoy learning a little more about our health worker heroes and why they volunteer year after year! 

Article Citation:

Sharon Minton Kirkpatrick, Janette Elizabeth Elliott, Wilaiporn Rojjanasrirat. (2025). Sustained volunteerism: Motivational factors of community health volunteers in Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zambia, and Nepal. Clinical Nursing Studies, 13(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.5430/cns.v13n1p11 http://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/cns/issue/view/1927.

DRC Wasaidizi volunteer, Joyce, weighing baby and providing post-natal counseling with mother.

Every year on April 7, World Health Day brings global attention to a pressing health issue. In 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) is launching a year-long campaign focused on maternal and newborn health under the theme “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures.” The goal is urgent and clear: to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths and to prioritize the long-term well-being of women everywhere.

At HealthEd Connect, these goals are aligned with our mission. Every day, our trained community health volunteers—many of them women leaders in their communities—ensure that mothers and babies not only survive, but thrive.

From prenatal checkups to postpartum care, infant growth monitoring, nutrition counseling, and sanitation education, our volunteers are equipped to provide care in some of the most underserved areas. As trusted advocates, they also serve as vital links between families and formal health systems.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where maternal mortality remains alarmingly high, our Wasaidizi community health volunteers are making a life-saving difference. Trained by local medical professionals as traditional birth attendants, these volunteers provide skilled care before, during, and after childbirth. Their training emphasizes how to spot high-risk pregnancies early and safely refer mothers to hospitals when needed—a simple but essential step that can mean the difference between life and death.

This work is critical. According to the WHO, nearly 300,000 women die from pregnancy- and childbirth-related causes each year. Over 2 million babies die within their first month, and another 2 million are stillborn. That’s one preventable loss every seven seconds.

But hope is rising.

In 2024 alone, our community health partners in four countries:

• Safely delivered 3,473 babies while keeping mothers healthy

• Immunized 26,034 infants and children against preventable diseases

• Monitored the growth and development of 147,548 children from birth to five years

These numbers represent lives protected, futures made possible, and communities strengthened.

As we recognize World Health Day 2025, we reaffirm our commitment to investing in the health and well-being of women and children. Because healthy mothers and babies are the heartbeat of thriving communities.

Let’s work together for healthy beginnings and hopeful futures for all.

DRC Wasaidizi volunteer, Nathalie, dressed for traditional birth attendant training at local health clinic.